Sound system upgrade for 2008 ram 2500

I don’t want to change out the head unit but everything else can be tossed. My intent for the system is SQ. The parts that I know I need to change or add are

A DSP to adapt from signal from the head unit, JL clean sweep or RF 3sixty or similar.

A 10” or maybe 12” subwoofer in an enclosure under the rear seat.

New speakers for the front doors, probably component.

An aftermarket amp to power the sub and front door speakers and possible other speakers.

Wires, cables etc.

The areas that I am not sure what to do are;

The dash speakers, currently there are two 3.5” and one 2.5” center channel. I think it would be good to keep the center channel for the best staging results but my first thought was to toss it, in any case I would need to keep the stock amp to run the center channel. I am considering upgrading the 3.5 speaker and running them off of the new amp.

I could mount the tweeters of the new component speakers for the front door in the sail panels, but then they would be pretty close the dash speakers and I am not sure how that would sound or affect the staging, I could also put these tweeters where the 3.5s are in the dash and jettison the 3.5s. Again I am not sure how that arrangement would sound.

I am not sure whether to keep the rear door speaker stock, upgrade them or unplug them.

There are a few 5 channel amps available the put our around 50 rms x 4 + 250 x 1. One thought was to use one of these (the Rockford fosgate 25 to life power 1000 looks nice) to power the system. I would power the front door speakers with 2 channels and power both the dash are rear door speaker with another, I was thinking of using some 2 ohmn speaker for the dash and rear door and running them in series to get the same impedance as the front door speakers and I think that will ensure good SQ. The center channel would have to run off of the stock amp. The amp would also run the sub.

I could also par down the system a little by getting a smaller amp and using the stock amp for the dash and rear doors. I can’t say that money is no object because it always is, the main goal is great sounding sound system for a good value. I have definitely over thought this and need some other opinions and input

Rear speakers are optional - upgrade them, leave them stock off stock amp, disconnect them. In a truck that large, I would think you might want them.

paforeleft:

I don’t want to change out the head unit but everything else can be tossed. My intent for the system is SQ.

Kinda a contradiction in terms there, but with NAV, I see why you want to keep the HU.

A DSP to adapt from signal from the head unit, JL clean sweep or RF 3sixty or similar.

Good idea, but maybe not needed - you could try just running the amp off speaker level inputs or a LOC first and see what you think before adding it.

The dash speakers, currently there are two 3.5” and one 2.5” center channel. I think it would be good to keep the center channel for the best staging results but my first thought was to toss it, in any case I would need to keep the stock amp to run the center channel. I am considering upgrading the 3.5 speaker and running them off of the new amp.

The center channel TAKES AWAY from staging. They are used in home theater when you want the voices in the middle and the FX on the surrounds. Think of a jazz track with a sax on the left channel and a trumpet on the right channel. The center channel will play both so you just killed your separation. OTOH, it does help a bit in raising the sound floor. The biggest drawback is there is no easy way to feed both channels to either, other than bridging it's own independent amp to it, and it's expensive and difficult to find a small enough amp to power a 2.5-inch speaker bridged.

I could mount the tweeters of the new component speakers for the front door in the sail panels, but then they would be pretty close the dash speakers and I am not sure how that would sound or affect the staging, I could also put these tweeters where the 3.5s are in the dash and jettison the 3.5s. Again I am not sure how that arrangement would sound.

Personally, I'm not a fan of component speakers, primarily due to the difficulty of mounting the tweeters. I could see either approach working, but I don't know what would be best. Ultimately, I think you might have to play around with them and see which option gives you the best sound (don't hard-mount them until you have tried the options and know what you want. Namosh has a similar truck, I think. You might PM him and see what he recommends).

I am not sure whether to keep the rear door speaker stock, upgrade them or unplug them.

Really depends if you want sound in the rear or not. I've heard systems both ways and either way can sound good.

There are a few 5 channel amps available the put our around 50 rms x 4 + 250 x 1. One thought was to use one of these (the Rockford fosgate 25 to life power 1000 looks nice) to power the system.

Unless space is a major concern, I've never been a big fan of 5-channel amps. It really limits you if you ever want to upgrade to either larger subs or more powerful main speakers.

I would power the front door speakers with 2 channels and power both the dash are rear door speaker with another

Running the dash and rear door speakers will kill the fader - fading to the rear would make the rear door AND dash speakers louder and decrease the front doors. I recommend running the dash off the factory amp, but if you wanted to amp them, I would consider running the dash and front door speakers in parallel. That puts you at 2-ohms, so the amp puts out 1.5-2x the power, which splits between the speakers, so it ends up about the same as running a single pair of speakers at the 4-ohm power.

I was thinking of using some 2 ohmn speaker for the dash and rear door and running them in series to get the same impedance as the front door speakers

Sounds good in theory ... Full range 2-ohm car speakers are really 2.7-ohms, so you end up at 5.4 ohms, plus the problems I mentioned above with the fader control ....

Hope This Helps!!! Post back if you need to follow-up on anything I said. Anyone else have suggestions?